Verbal Phrases

🔎 What Are Verbal Phrases?

Verbals are words that are formed from verbs but do not act as main verbs in a sentence. When they form phrases, we call them verbal phrases. These phrases function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in a sentence.

There are three types of verbal phrases:

🔴 1. Gerund Phrases

A gerund is a verb ending in -ing that functions as a noun. A gerund phrase includes the gerund and any objects or modifiers.

✅ Function: Acts as a noun

(can be a subject, object, or complement)

🧾 Examples:

• Swimming is my favorite activity. → (subject)

• She enjoys reading historical novels. → (object)

• His passion is painting landscapes. → (subject complement)

Tip: If you can replace the phrase with “something” or “it” and the sentence still makes sense, it’s likely a gerund phrase.

🔵 2. Participle Phrases

A participle is a verb form used as an adjective.

• Present participles end in -ing.

• Past participles often end in -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n.

A participle phrase includes the participle and any accompanying modifiers or objects.

✅ Function: Acts as an adjective (describes a noun)

🧾 Examples:

• Walking through the forest, she felt calm.

• The book placed on the table is mine.

• Exhausted by the long day, he went straight to bed.

Tip: Participle phrases usually come before or after the noun they modify.

🟢 3. Infinitive Phrases

An infinitive is the base form of a verb preceded by “to” (e.g., to eat, to run). An infinitive phrase includes the infinitive and its modifiers or objects.

✅ Function: Can act as a noun, adjective, or adverb

🧾 Examples:

• I want to learn English quickly. → (noun, object of "want")

• She has a book to read before class. → (adjective describing "book")

• He came to help us. → (adverb explaining why he came)

Tip: If you see “to + verb,” it's likely an infinitive.

🧠 Mini Quiz: Identify the Verbal Phrase Type

Instructions:

Read each sentence. Identify whether the bold phrase is a Gerund, Participle, or Infinitive phrase.

🏁 Scoring:

• 5/5: Excellent! You're mastering verbal phrases.

• 3–4/5: Great progress. Review tricky spots.

• 1–2/5: No problem — go back and study the types again.